COUNSELLING FOR FAMILY WELLBEING AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT: A STUDY OF SOME SELECTED FAMILIES IN ABUJA MUNICIPAL AREA COUNCIL

Abstract

Counselling is considered a talk therapy that can bring about Family well-being and moral
development. However, less attention has been paid to deploying counselling in achieving
family wellbeing and moral development. This study, therefore, examined the efficacy of
counselling in bringing about family wellbeing and moral development. The objectives of the
study is to determine the effectiveness of counselling interventions in promoting moral
development and to evaluate the efficacy of counselling interventions on various aspects of
wellbeing. The research design deployed is descriptive survey. The sample comprised of fortyseven families who were purposively selected as having taken part in a counselling encounter.
Three research questions guided this study. Counselling for Family Wellbeing and Moral
Development Questionnaire (CFW&MDQ) provided data for the study. The data collected were
computed using frequency counts and percentages. Results indicated that participation in
counselling interventions improved family cohesion, communication, conflict resolution,
emotional support and overall satisfaction. The results further revealed that counselling
intervention positively impacted moral development to a very large extent. Based on the
findings, the study recommended that Counselling Programmes should be integrated into family
support frameworks at community, school, and healthcare levels and should promote
counselling as a tool for moral development in youth.